Track still closed after coal train derailment

Queensland Rail (QR) says it still does not know when the main rail line between Rockhampton and Longreach will reopen.

The line was closed when a coal train derailed near Duaringa, west of Rockhampton in central Queensland, early yesterday morning.

The derailment has blocked access to the Gladstone port for coal mines serviced by the Blackwater rail system.

QR will transfer passengers between Rockhampton and Longreach by bus.

QR National spokesman Clay McDonald says crews are still checking the extent of damage.

"A team is out there assessing the safest way to recover the wagons, the coal and the track, so at this point in time they're unable to say when that track will reopen. We would suspect it would be sometime later in the week," he said.